Love is in the air in Cerealia -- or, well, it is in ViViD anyway. And nobody cares about your lives outside of ViViD, so that's all that matters. It's an artificial love construct, but for you sad, lonely, little people, it's probably good enough, right? CERES is on a mission to find you your other half, your soulmate, your one and only, and this is how they've decided to do it -- through technology and abuse of your private information! Welcome to your new love life, courtesy of ViViD.
For your convenience, CERES has automatically generated dating profiles to help match up the new arrivals swiftly and speed up the "get to know each other" process. Nothing like some not-entirely-agreed-to speed dating to break the ice and improve new relations! You're going to be here for awhile, so you may as well get to know each other.
For the older residents, well... you may very well find your soulmate here! You don't want to miss out on that. That would just be an unfixable tragedy. So here, use the handy-dandy profiles and find your new honey. After all, the information on these profiles is 100% accurate, certified and verified by Mosley himself.
Why would you ever doubt that?
 I've never actually been on a date before. Not that there haven't been offers but I'm just too busy a guy! I think to myself, "Mosley, me, guy who's talking to himself, why won't you go on a date with that nice lady who just asked you out?" And I reply, "Oh, you gorgeous bastard, I'm satisfied with my life as it is already! I don't need love." After all, what is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] Gooooood morning, new ViViD compatriots and gamers! You’re not going to get a lot of time to adjust and recover from your sudden retrieval from destroyed and sad code, really, because as soon as you arrive, fresh and new to Cerealia, you’ll be faced with a profile.
Oh, look, it’s your face! And… a quote attributed to you? And your favorite object? Hopefully those details are correct, because there’s no going back now.
You’ve become an otome love interest.
For those who aren’t brand new to ViViD, you’ll be presented the exact same profiles -- but you’ll have to pick one. You know how this works, pick the love interest you want to romance and sweep them off their feet. Better pick the right route too because, haha! You wouldn't want to end up naked and alone in a basement again! That would be crazy. Just pick some rando hottie instead, it's no big.
Or, well, that’s what they say. But then you’re dumped into a ballroom, dressed up to the nines in finery, and surrounded by other milling NPCs. You're given a moment to process the whole situation before a genteel-looking older man who seems to be running this party steps up to the microphone. Gently, he clears his throat, and welcomes everyone to the party ("Haven't been to a party this fine since I had all my teeth!"), and then he gestures to a pile of weapons in the middle of the room and finishes cheerfully, “Anyway, whoever survives can leave this room -- enjoy!”
It looks like the NPCs aren’t messing around; they’re immediately diving for the weapons, so you might want to get a move on.
Welcome to the Cerealia Dating Hunger Games.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] When you burst out of the ball room, possibly covered in the blood of your enemies (your poor dress/suit!), you’ll find yourself in what looks to be a sprawling jungle. In reality, it’s a circular arena, and if you travel far enough, you can reach the walls, though they’re electrified with no way out. If you try to get past them, you’re going to fry yourself before you accomplish anything else! Where's the fun in that?
The bigger problem is this: there are some unfortunate monsters on the prowl (don't they... look a little familiar?) in the jungle, and they are ready and willing to eat up anyone who crosses their paths. They’re drawn to the scent of blood -- and, even more so, the scent of people in love. So hey, if you're in love right now, it might be a good time to run. Otherwise, you're the top target and about to be hunted. Have fun out there, lovebirds!
Meanwhile, the NPCs (or even your fellow player characters?!) are out for blood themselves, so nowhere is truly safe.
Was that... was that a scream for help, or someone coming to get you?
PHASE III [ 1145 ] At some point, you’re going to need supplies. It starts to feel like you’ve been in here for days without any food or water (but that’s weird, wasn’t this ViViD session supposed to be just a few hours -- ) and you’re starting to feel the effects.
So, time to get in touch with your inner man vs wild. There are animals to hunt (deer, rabbit, etc.) and if you can fashion a spear or use a weapon you scooped up in the chaos, you can kill them for food. Alternatively, you can just try stealing some supplies from your fellow players. That's probably a saner option.
Which leaves you sneaking up onto their camp, full of sneakiness, and more sneakiness, and a little bit of stealth, you reach out and...
Suddenly, there are lights on you! Cameras! Cheering, adoring crowds! There's a narrator narrating every step you're taking (loudly) and there are fans hanging on your every move --
Oh, did that wake up the other player and/or bring monsters roaring down upon you? Whoops. The perils of spectator sports like the Cerealia Hunger Games, really.
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] You did it. Someone came at you, and you killed them. Their blood is on your hands, but it’s fine -- it’s just a program in a game.
Right?
Except when you look again, it’s someone you know. The corpse of a person who’s very important to you in so many ways is lying there on the ground, blood still warm but clearly dead. They’re solid to the touch. They’re there, and they look just like that person you care about so very much. Your heart hurts.
And you’re the one who killed them.
Then, without warning, it starts to rain because ViViD is nothing if not good at sensing the mood.
PENALTY [ why o'clock ] So.
You died.
This isn't really that surprising, considering it's the Cerealia Dating Hunger Games. People die a lot in games like these. It's the price of love.
Don't worry, though! It's just ViViD, so it's not like you really died. You'll get reconstructed, good as new, and they'll toss you right back onto the battlefield. Except, well... it seems like something's a little different.
For one thing, you've got claws instead of hands.
You can't seem to speak, either; all you can manage is garbled growls and sharp noises.
And, worst of all... you're really, very intensely hungry, and you can smell blood (or people in love, that's an even better scent).
So yeah, you're one of the monsters now. Don't worry, it only happens the first time you die in this game; if someone valiantly slays you again, you'll come back good as new, a normal person in the Games. What a weird glitch. There's no way that's on purpose or anything, right? No way!
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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[
And, you know, his suit is absolutely killer, too, so there's that.]... I'm fine.
[This after a brief, appraising sort of look, her hesitation palpable but apparently not inconquerable. She can't argue with his logic, either, and there's little time to waste, so quickly enough she's nodding and stooping to reach for the straps on her shoes. As if her compliance weren't sufficient proof of her agreement with his reasoning, she adds a slightly belated but unquestionably sincere,]
Thank you.
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There's a pile of weapons, and bloodthirsty NPC's, and they haven't got much time. He came armed because ViViD has taught him to always come armed; it's unwise to ever treat this game with anything but the utmost seriousness, no matter how ridiculous the scenarios it throws you into. Yu stands beside her with both hands gripping his sword while she removes her shoes, guarding her, the look on his face sharp. ]
Of course, [ he says, because stooping the way she is, she wouldn't see it if he simply nodded. ]
Can you fight? [ It's okay if she can't; but it's helpful to know, either way. ]
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[As the first shoe comes off,] No. Not exactly.
[Now she casts a glance upwards; sees his stance, looks back down. It's hard not to think of something, some distant memory that brings along with it several others that are unpleasant and unwelcome, and as she sets to work on the second shoe with careful hurry, she tries her best to nudge the thoughts aside, brows drawing together for several different reasons.]
And I'd rather not. [If it can at all be avoided, which is her goal - and she hopes, of course, that it's his, too. He looks considerably more capable than she feels she is, but that means nothing, ultimately, when there's nothing worth fighting for. Better to skip all the bloodshed entirely, if survival is the only thing at stake.]
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Well, alright.
Yu's eyes narrow slightly as he scans the ballroom, his mind flicking through plans and battle diagrams as rapidly as he can make sense of them. Go here to avoid this; step there to move out of range of those; avoid groups, avoid corners, head for the doors--
And then a sword is slamming down on his head, and it's instinct that has him raising his own in time to block the blow, his knees bending with the force of it. He makes a soft, choked sound of effort, and then rebounds, shoving his attacker off with one great arcing sweep of his blade. But he doesn't retaliate, because I'd rather not. Instead he'll loose one hand from the hilt of his sword and reach out to take one of Namine's, hoping that it's alright that he does. ]
Come on!
[ They have to run. ]
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[Which is something she realizes belatedly as she looks up from tugging off her remaining shoe just in time to see the downward strike of an unfamiliar sword. Eyes round, she doesn't have the opportunity to warn him; that one instant seems eternal, and yet her mouth won't move quick enough, and instead she's hit with a sudden and forceful wave of pre-emptive guilt for what she expects to be another death caused purely by her own existence.]
[But it isn't, and the clash of metal on metal seems to ring in her ears. Surely, her mind is quick to supply, he can't keep them from--]
[He does, and if she were not so busy being relieved, she would be impressed. Halfway to her feet, she recognizes that there's a hand coming toward hers only just early enough to splay her fingers to receive it, because it doesn't much matter whether it's alright or not when they have to go, now. Urgently she stands the rest of the way, the straps of her shoes hooked haphazardly through the fingers of her other hand, and even if he doesn't start running first, there won't be much delay before she does it, herself.]
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Though Yu has never summoned his Persona using anything but his open hand, he makes an exception now. When the tarot card appears before him when a pocket of clear space appears, he slashes it with his sword. Izanagi-no-Okami will appear and force his way through the crowd, attacking no one, simply making headway and slamming open the set of double doors they're headed for.
Once they break their way out into the jungle Yu finally lets go of her, panting and twisting to look at her. He only slows to a jog - they have to keep going - but they can lighten the pace slightly. ]
You alright?
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[Her lungs burn and her legs scream demands that she stop, yet the world carries on with its chaos around them and she knows that to falter would be to invite death upon them both. Struggling, she bends her indomitable will to the task, and then there is only one foot in front of the other, only following the hand that leads her, only ducking and dodging when it looks like an attack might come anywhere near too close-- and then over his shoulder she sees the arrival of what appears to her to be a summon, and it's all she can do not to stumble with the shock of it.]
[It looks... an awful lot like a Nobody.]
[Surely it isn't, surely not - for if that were the case, would he not be one, too? And it doesn't feel quite right, either, doesn't match up. But who is this fellow, to be capable of such a thing? There's no time to wonder or to ponder it. She can only be grateful for having found herself for once so lucky.]
[If he's out of breath by the time they reach the outside, she is doubly so. There's no air left in her to use for words, even as they slow; gasping for it, she can only nod, face strained and stomach turning, but she doesn't ask to stop - wouldn't, even if she had the wind. It's clear enough that she needs to recover, no matter her failure to express it.]
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Now that they're free of the ballroom he's free to watch her more closely, and he can see how much she's struggling to breathe. Concerned for her safety, Yu looks back over their shoulders. Izanagi, following behind them, moves out of the way just enough for him to see that they're not being followed. Yu slows up to a walk, and signals for her to follow him to the cover of a copse of trees. After a moment's thought, he banishes Izanagi, too. His Persona makes a good guard, but also is a huge beacon to their location - better to be able to hide while she recovers. ]
Let's rest, for a minute.
[ Not "you can rest, if you need to," but "let's rest." Something they'll share in, so the weight isn't on her. His demeanor is gentle, and he keeps standing guard, the same as before. A beat, and: ]
If you have any questions you'd like to ask, I don't mind answering.
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[Words can't express her relief when Yu suggests they rest. Knees shaking, she finally does let herself lean against the nearest tree trunk, and if she were recovered enough, she would probably sigh. She is not, and instead she raises her head to regard him. Still on guard. Kind, this one, and she recognizes his game as she would know her own; the rest is for her more than it is for him, if he needs it at all. Quietly, she is that much more grateful to him. As much as she wants to express it, that has to be put off in favor of a brief respite, and by the time she's begun to gather herself, he's making yet another offer she can't refuse.]
[Where is she to start? Now she exhales something that could almost be a sigh, then swallows against her dry throat. Careful, she slides down into a seated position, because her legs would have it no other way, and sets the shoes to her side. There's a slight impression on the undersides of her fingers from clutching the straps so tightly.]
What is all this about?
[She says it finally, a little solemn, as though she might really only get one question and has to make it count. Her voice rasps, still troubled with a certain lack of air. Eyes on him, she studies him both in anticipation of the answer and in an attempt to understand more of her adept companion.]
I know what that man said. But....
[That didn't exactly seem like the whole story. If it weren't obvious enough that she's a newcomer, perhaps there's sufficient proof in her question.]
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When she sits, he follows a moment later, sitting cross-legged opposite her, his sword held across his lap. The rasp in her voice concerns him, too. Maybe they can find a source of water, somewhere in the jungle, though who knows for sure if it would be safe. Still, it might be something...
In studying him, she might find him hard to read. He's not very expressive, which isn't to say he's severe. If it's possible to be gently impassive, that's what he is most of the time. His eyes are thoughtful and always watching, but his expression gives little away except when he explicitly chooses to. He doesn't seem to choose to now. Yu studies her in turn, mostly for the small tells she's giving of her physical burnout, thinking ahead to how they can proceed best without tiring her out further, as he prepares to answer her. ]
Don't pay him much attention. All of this... [ Yu gestures broadly, indicating the jungle and the direction they came from, the ballroom where they started ] ... is ViViD, a virtual reality game. The real place we're in is a colony called Cerealia, on a planet named Tellus. The real objective is to get to the end of this level, so you can log out and actually enter the colony.
[ Depending on where - and when - she's from, none of that may make sense to her, so he waits, seeing if that explanation just gave rise to about a thousand more questions or not. ]
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[Perhaps it should, because he is a stranger and strangers have rarely been good news for a girl like Naminé. But as difficult to read as he may be, she finds she doesn't need to try; actions speak louder than words - or (the lack of) facial expressions - and his have yet to suggest to her that he might have any nefarious ulterior motives she should be wary of. If anything, he seems... oddly trustworthy, for reasons she can't quite put her finger on. Being so quick to look after her might be one of them, but maybe it's got more to do with the way he's been doing it. Not loudly, not boastfully, just-- doing what needs to be done without calling attention to it, attentively and efficiently.]
[She can respect that. (She does respect that.)]
[So she doesn't shy away from his studying her as she studies him, because that doesn't bother her, either, eyes calm as they meet his. Hers is an honest face, subtle though her own expressions might frequently be. The real difficulty with someone like her isn't figuring out what she's feeling, it's ascertaining what she's thinking. Because she's always thinking, and more often than not it's a thought that follows some long and winding path back into the depths of her mind, much too far to see from the outside.]
[What is clear, though, is that her own physical state is not where her attention is settled. Her focus is still intent on the matter at hand, and her lips purse slightly as she takes in the information put before her. (She's starting to do better, now that they've had some rest; her breathing is recovering. Not as quickly as it should, maybe, but it's happening all the same.) Silent, she begins to sort through his words, picking out the ones that make the least sense and looking back through the reference of her secondhand memories. After a moment,]
... So you're saying... all of this is fake. That-- we're inside a computer?
[It's not the strangest thing she's ever heard. It's not even slightly unbelievable, to her; there is no incredulity, only the wish to make sure she's understood correctly.]
And that outside is another world, one I've never seen before?
[Interesting. Her eyes lower, taking in the grass, the dirt, the roots of the tree she's resting against. It looks awfully authentic - but what would someone like her know about being real?]
[(More than most, actually.)]
... This doesn't seem like a very nice game.